Feet, thumbs, and noses on Holy Thursday

On a disappointing note, the Worship office for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati is once again encouraging priests to thumb their noses at the rubrics governing foot-washing at Mass on Holy Thursday, citing a document from a bishops’ conference subcommittee dating to the 1980s with no authority whatsoever over the liturgy:

It goes on to say:

While this variation may differ from the rubric of the Sacramentary which mentions only men (viri selecti), it may nevertheless be said that the intention to emphasize service along with charity in the celebration of the rite is an understandable way of accentuating the evangelical command of the Lord, “who came to serve and not be served,” that all members of the Church must serve one another in love. (BCL, Vol. XXIII, Feb., 1987)

In the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, it has been the custom of priests to wash the feet of a representative group of parishioners: men, women, children, persons with disabilities, the elderly, etc.

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5 Responses to “Feet, thumbs, and noses on Holy Thursday”

Just imagine if the Archdiocese of Cincinnati’s Worship Office’s screwed up logic was applied to other areas of our “worship:”

In recent years, several phone calls have been made to the Worship Office regarding “who” may receive Holy Communion. The Bishops’ Committee on the New Understanding of the Catholic Faith in a Relevant Way wrote a statement in the February, 1987 edition of the BCNUCFRW Newsletter, and restated it once again in 1998, responding to the question of “who” may receive Holy Communion at Mass. The following response was given by the Bishops’ Committee on the New Understanding the Catholic in a Relevant Way:
Because the gospel of the Last Supper read at every consecration of the Eucharist depicts Jesus as saying, “take this ALL of you” which goes beyond merely ‘some of you’ the element of inclusiveness has accentuated the celebration of the Eucharist in the United States over the last decade or more. In this regard, it has become customary in many places to invite both those in and out of a state of grace to be participants in this sacrament in recognition of the inclusiveness that should be given to all. Thus, in the United States, a variation in the sacrament developed in which not only holiness is signified but also niceness. (BCNUCFRW, Vol. XXIII, Feb., 1987) It goes on to say:
While this variation may differ from the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Canon Law which mentions only people in a state of grace, it may nevertheless be said that the intention to emphasize inclusiveness and niceness in the celebration of the sacrament is an understandable way of accentuating the evangelical command of the Lord, “who came to serve and not be served,” that all members of the Church must serve one another in love. (BCNUCFRW, Vol. XXIII, Feb., 1987)

In the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, it has been the custom of clergy and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion to distribute Communion to a representative group of parishioners: those in a state of grace, those outside a state of grace, those who do not know what a state of grace is, those from other religions ‘just visiting,’ children, persons with disabilities, the elderly, etc.